This invention relates to a cosmetics package comprising a cosmetics container and cosmetics products contained therein.
In the comfort of her own home a woman will generally apply her make-up at the same place, for example whilst seated at a dressing table in her bedroom. All the required cosmetics products can be placed on the dressing table so as to be within easy reach of the user. Since the working surface of a dressing table is flat and relatively large there is not a general need for the cosmetics products to be small in size or to be capable of being stored together in a make-up bag or the like.
When away from the home environment the make-up requirements of a woman are different. She may need to apply her favourite cosmetics products rapidly, several times a day and often in inconvenient locations, such as whilst travelling in a car, or taxi or on public transport. To meet these requirements a woman will generally carry her personal cosmetics products in a handbag or in a separate pouch (a make-up bag) within her handbag. However it is often difficult to locate the required cosmetics product within the handbag or make-up bag rapidly especially when other personal items are also carried in the handbag. In addition conventional cosmetics products may be difficult to access and use especially if the user is performing another task at the same time, e.g. waiting at a traffic light whilst driving a car. The shape of cosmetics products, e.g. tubular lipsticks, highlighter pencils and the like, renders the cosmetics products liable to fall off a surface on which they are placed unless the surface is flat and stillxe2x80x94a requirement which may be difficult to fulfil whilst travelling in a car or train for instance. Furthermore, conventional cosmetics products intended primarily for use in the home environment are relatively large with each product having its own packaging some of which is intrinsic to the product""s use and some of which is protective. Thus a relatively large handbag is required to carry a full complement of cosmetics"" products. Furthermore some conventional cosmetics products require protective outer packaging, e.g. caps on lipsticks and pencils, which need to be stored whilst the product is in use. There is thus a need for a cosmetics package which carries a woman""s favourite cosmetics products, is intended to be used away from the user""s home environment and in transit and which allows cosmetics products to be accessed quickly, individually and easily.
There are cosmetics packs on the market where different cosmetics products, for example, blushers, eyeshadows, highlighters and powder, are packaged together. By reducing packaging in this way, the bulk of the cosmetics products that a woman has to keep in her make-up bag can be reduced. Some of these multi-purpose cosmetics packs are sold in such a way that the woman chooses the colours which are placed in the outer packaging. This custom-made multipurpose idea is more common among top of the range cosmetics houses and the outer packaging is usually of high quality. Although some of the extraneous packaging is eliminated, these known cosmetics packs assemble together standard cosmetics products. Since the cosmetics products that any woman uses are highly personalised and are sold in unnecessarily large sizes, none of these known cosmetics packs is able to contain all the cosmetics products that a woman needs to make herself up from scratch in a container which minimises packaging, allows easy individual access and is capable of being used in transit.
It is also known to provide a wallet containing replaceable folders in which cosmetics products are mounted. By suitable purchases of the required folders, such wallets can be personalised to contain all the make-up products a woman needs. However, this product is bulky since it has to cater for a large number of folders being fitted in the wallet and is also relatively flimsy. Again the cosmetics products are often standard ones and no saving in space is obtained by assembling them together.
One known cosmetics organiser which attempts to address the problems relating to the application of cosmetics products away from the home environment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,808. This known cosmetics organiser has an upper storage means provided with recessed locating means, in the form of trays, for receiving cosmetics products and lower storage means, in the form of cavities, for receiving further cosmetics products. The individual trays of the upper storage means are not intended to conform precisely to the shapes of particular cosmetics products and the latter are not therefore gripped by the walls of the trays. This means that if the cosmetics organiser is accidentally dropped, the contents of the trays will be emptied. Furthermore this known cosmetics organiser uses generally standard, full-size cosmetics products and does not fully cater for the need to provide a compact package which allows a user to access each cosmetics product separately whilst retaining the remaining cosmetics products securely in their stored positions. The cosmetics organiser obliges the user to find means of temporary storage for the caps of certain cosmetics products, such as lipsticks or eye pencils, when those products are in use and such storage may not be readily available when the cosmetics organiser is being used in transit. The cosmetics organiser also does not provide a full range of cosmetics products.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a cosmetics package which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is an object of the invention to provide a portable cosmetics package containing specially sized and minimally packaged products which is able to cater for all of a user""s cosmetics needs particularly when the user is away from the home environment.
A further object of the invention is to provide a cosmetics package which can be held by a user in one hand whilst allowing individual cosmetics products to be accessed and used with the user""s other hand, any cosmetics product not being used being securely retained in position within the cosmetics package.
A further object of the invention is to minimise the amount of packaging needed for the proper use and protection of the cosmetics product thereby reducing the bulk of what is carried.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a cosmetics package for a plurality of cosmetics products in which some of the protective packaging of at least some of the cosmetics products is provided by the cosmetics package itself thereby obviating the need for a make-up bag.
According to the present invention there is provided a cosmetics package as claimed in the ensuing claim 1.
The wall means defining each cavity may serve as a cap for the associated second cosmetics product. On withdrawing a second cosmetics product from its associated cavity, the xe2x80x9ccapxe2x80x9d is thus effectively xe2x80x9cremovedxe2x80x9d from the second cosmetics product rendering it ready for immediate application to the body, e.g. face, of a user. In this way a user holding the cosmetics package in one hand can access with the other hand any second cosmetics product for immediate use without having subsequently to remove a separate top or cap associated with the second cosmetics product.
Preferably the locating means comprises recessed regions for receiving and locating in position appropriately sized cosmetics products. The cakes of powdered material may be contained in open-topped containers received in said recessed regions. Such open-topped containers are releasably retained in position by any conventional retaining means. For example, a container containing a cake of powdered material may be received in an interference fit in its associated recessed region or may be magnetically retained therein. It is intended that the open-topped containers should only be replaced when they need to be replaced.
Preferably the lid is hinged to the base unit. Conveniently the lid has a mirror on its inner surface.
Preferably the first cosmetics products include a face powder, e.g. pressed face powder, with a puff applicator. The face powder may be contained in a lidded container received in an appropriate locating means. The puff applicator is intended to be received within the container, on top of the pressed face powder, when the lid of the lidded container is closed. Alternatively, however, the face powder may be contained in an unlidded container, a separate lid or cover being hinged to the upper storage means and being closeable to cover the unlidded container and powder therein and the covering puff applicator.
Preferably the applicators are releasably retained in position in the locating means by being resiliently gripped by walls of the recessed locating means. Thumb and finger recesses may be provided to facilitate gripping and removal of the applicators from their stored positions.
Preferably each wall means defining a cavity has retaining means associated therewith for releasably retaining an associated second cosmetics product within the cavity. For example, the retaining means may cooperate with retention means on the second cosmetics product when the latter is fully positioned in the cavity. In this case the cooperating retaining means and retention means may comprise cooperating screw-threaded portions or cooperating detent means with an end of the second cosmetics product closing the cavity in its retained position within the cavity.
The second cosmetics products comprise cosmetics which can be applied directly to the face of the user once the product has been removed from its cavity. Examples of such cosmetics products are eyeliner, eyebrow pencils, lip pencils, lipstick and foundation. Also included in the second cosmetics products is mascara with the mascara applicator brush being considered an integral part of a mascara cassette. In particular, the mascara-containing container of the mascara cassette may be arranged to be releasably retained in the cavity for the mascara cassette. The mascara brush, normally received in the mascara-containing container, can then be screwed into and removed from the mascara-containing container in a conventional manner. With this arrangement, the mascara is easily accessible, the user being able to hold the cosmetics package in one hand so as to be able to use the mirror and have access to the mascara and to use the mascara applicator brush with the other hand.
Preferably the cosmetics package is provided with a sharpener to enable the eyeliners and xe2x80x9cpencilsxe2x80x9d to be sharpened when required. Preferably the sharpener will be releasably secured in one of the said cavities. A xe2x80x9cpencilxe2x80x9d, if required to be sharpened, can be withdrawn by a user with one hand from its cavity and inserted into the sharpener whilst the cosmetics package is held with the other hand. The user is able to sharpen the xe2x80x9cpencilxe2x80x9d, to remove it from the sharpener, (optionally) to use the xe2x80x9cpencilxe2x80x9d and finally to replace it in its cavity whilst still holding the cosmetics package. Ideally the sharpener and mascara cassette are received in cavities of similar cross-sectional size in opposite side walls of the container. This allows the mascara cassette to be positioned on the right- or left-hand side of the container depending on the requirements of the user, usually whether the user is right- or left-handed.
Conveniently the said cavities are formed in opposite side walls of the base unit.